Put the bottom of your shoe to your face. Now, before you ask “has Ed gone plum crazy,” hear me out. Putting your cell phone there is just as unsanitary: that’s how much bacteria lives on those devices according to some microbiologists. Now that you’re thoroughly grossed out, here’s a possible solution–Violight’s UV cell phone sanitizer.

The company has been producing UV toothbrush sanitizers since it’s founding in 2004. Ultraviolet light is a fairly reliable sanitizer, and has seen increasing use when aiming to kill off bacteria. Violight claims its own system eradicates about 99.9 percent of these bad guys, including e.coli, strep, salmonella, listeria and even the H1N1 flu virus in a matter of minutes.

In a demo, the device looked pretty easy to use. The cell phone is placed in the cradle which includes a sensor to detect the weight of the device. If theres a device in the unit, when the cover is placed on top it turns on and starts the process. In about three minutes it’s done, indicated by a pulsing blue light on the front which will indicate its completion when the light turns off.

Germaphobes rejoice, your phone is now clean. The sanitizer will retail for $49.95 when it becomes available in October, the company says.

The modern world’s desire for total isolation from all germs and bacteria is quite ridiculous. Soon, our immune systems will fail altogether from disuse. By contrast, exposure to germs and bacteria improves our ability to ward off disease. I don’t advocate leaving E. coli and salmonella on food to make us sick, but if we all become like Howie Mandell, we’ll all have warts and be unwilling to touch anyone or anything!